News

Five-month project to start Monday along south 5 Freeway

By Pamela Hale-Burns, Staff Writer

Posted:
11/23/2012 12:03:27 AM PST

Updated:
11/23/2012 12:05:26 AM PST

The California Department of Transportation will begin a five-month improvement project Monday along the Santa Ana (5) Freeway south corridor as part of a $380 million expansion project in Santa Fe Springs.

The work on the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes and the Carmenita Road Bridge entails setting about 2,500 steel piles into the ground.

The work schedule will be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday and will continue through April 2013, weather permitting, officials said.

The staging area for the project equipment and crane will be within a Caltrans construction zone at the intersection of Firestone Boulevard, west of Carmenita Road, adjacent southbound I-5.

According to officials, the piles will provide structural support for the new 10-lane concrete Carmenita Road Bridge. Workers will construct one car-pool and one general purpose lane in each direction from Alondra Boulevard to Shoemaker Avenue, realign and upgrade adjacent frontage roads, construct new diamond- style ramps, and reconstruct the bridge from its existing two lanes to 10 lanes.

Although the pile-driving work does not require any freeway lane, ramp or local street closures at this time, commuters are encouraged to allow extra time to reach their destination. Carmenita Road and the Carmenita Road Bridge will remain open during construction.

For more information about this project, call the I-5 toll- free hotline at 855-454- 6335 or go to I-5info.com.